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Messages - EricCoolCats

5131
Misc Tech / Re: Figured I'd move this over here (bad hesitation)
Wow, that's shafty dude. I would be P.O.'d too. Motor mounts don't make the car hesitate and stumble.

And I lied...the problem did not go away completely. It's better but still there. I am going to swap out another upper intake and throttle body to see if that does anything. Sounds strange but that actually did help on my old '88 XR7. If the problem exists after that...then I have no frickin' clue what it could be. I'm starting to lean toward the O2 sensors more, even though everything is telling me it's emissions related. I will also snag some TAB/TAD parts at the boneyard next week and try swapping those in. What a pain.
5132
Drivetrain Tech / Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.
Just FYI...there are factory e-brake cable holders for the rear control arms that you can use. Look on any rear-disc equipped SN95 Mustang and you'll see them. They bolt right on using one of the sway bar bolts...pretty slick. They should work on most aftermarket lowers too; mine are working fine with Saleen Racecraft lowers.
5133
Lounge / Re: WTF is this for?
I don't ever remember seeing them for the Cougar front end. JC Whitney sold them, for sure, and I think Sears did too. Honestly I don't ever remember seeing them in person on a car; just knew that they were available. Things were weird back then. I still have a pair of black LeBra MIRROR covers. Because you had to have them to match the LeBra on the front end. ;)
5134
Lounge / Re: WTF is this for?
Quote from: 1986Tbird
Maybe its a car-bra made out of plastic?


That's exactly what it is. , I haven't seen one of those in a looooooooong time. Back in the day, that was the "new" thing if you outgrew your colored LeBra front end cover. ;)
5135
Lounge / Re: Food for Thought
Quote from: shame302
i think it would be an awsome car. i also think it would flop like the marauder.


The Marauder had a lot of problems. Like how 302hp would move a heavy (4500 lb.) car. Or how Ford overcharged for it ($35,000 US for a car built on a 1978 platform---yes, similar to Fox Mustangs but at least the Mustang was way faster for the money). Or how it really wasn't that much differentiated from its cheaper Grand Marquis cousins. Or how most really old people are just not into hot rods for their daily driver.

The proposed Cougar would almost assuredly be built off the Mustang. Mustang = parts. Tell me how this would not be a success. We already know the pricing structure for the Mustang---entry level V6 just under $20G. Ttherefore the Cougar wouldn't be that much more. Which means I could actually afford one...a first for my lifetime.

What we have to get used to is the idea that the Cougar name could disappear just as quickly as it would reappear. Ford seems to be intent on shorter life cycles for their reincarnated vehicles. Look at the New Edge Cougars: 4 years and out. The Ford GT, Thunderbird, etc. are all the same way--designed with a finite product cycle. So it could be with another new Cougar. The days of depending on your car's nameplate to be there next model year are completely over. Still, if it's a kick-ass car, I'll take 4 years over nothing. Hell, I'll take 1 year over nothing!
5136
Lounge / Re: Food for Thought
Quote from: Ifixyawata
I think he knows something we don't....?


Not at all...just a hunch...a feeling that something's going on....
5137
Miscellaneous For Sale/Wanted / '86 Xr7 Fs
Check this out here.

I've seen this car at local shows...has a custom interior and trunk that's pretty smooth. Everything in this car is geared toward SPL competition. There are compartments everywhere (factory and custom) stuffed with speakers, controllers, EQ's, etc. One of the former owners even told me that the trunk is lined with 1" thick cement for a better hit. Keep in mind it's a turbo-4 XR7...with cement in the trunk and hundreds of pounds of stereo equipment. I'm thinking it's not going to be very bloody fast. But I can vouch for its clean installation, custom panels and great workmanship.
5138
Lounge / Food for Thought
It's very possible that right now, as you read this, Ford is working on a new Cougar prototype, based on the '05 Mustang, to be unveiled at an auto show early next year (Detroit? L.A.? Chicago?).

It's also very possible that TLC is filming the progress, just as the did for the GT and Mustang, for a future edition of "Rides".

Could just happen. Ya never know.
5139
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Re: Opinion poll: Non-stock paint colors on T-bird/Cougar
Wow, that is nice. Used to be an orange '86 running around my area a few years ago...I really liked the color on our body style.

I think colors for cars are subjective. You ask people here, you're going to get a thousand different opinions on what's "right" or "wrong" for your car. My suggestion: use your balls and do what you feel is best. Stick your neck out a little. There is no right or wrong unless it's what you think.

I took my car--extremely rare, virtually irreplaceable, and what many people consider the "Holy Grail" of Cougars--and changed or painted every single ed part on the entire thing. Color-wise, I was tired of the ass burgandy interior and decided a nice off-white would be about right. On the outside, I liked the white...it's the original Oxford color. The silver was going to be newer Chrysler silver flip-flop but I was unsure about its lack of blue tinting, so I stuck with Opal Frost from the mid-1990's Mustang/Cougar/Thunderbird. They were the only silvers that stuck out to me; in the end the Ford color won. I also have a light blue metallic stripe that sometimes blends into the silver. That color is '84 Medium Cadet Blue metallic, left over from a touch-up job on my first car, an '84 V6 GS. I had sentimental reasons for using it (read: a tie to my past). Special reasons, special paint, a striking overall combination. Do I regret any of that? Hell no.

Unless you have a very original or rarely-optioned car, or are just trying to preserve the original appearance, go with custom. You will never regret it. Just choose your color wisely. I think a dark green will look very nice...seen it done a few times with great results.
5140
General Computer Forum / Re: screw internet explorer :macgun:
Basically the web is written for IE because of the perception that it's the most used (last figure I heard was 92%, down from 94% a few years ago), plus a lot of web designers and programmers use M$ programs (FrontPage, ASP.NET, etc) and are presumptuous that everyone else is using IE. This is good and bad...if IE was getting updated on any platform, and M$ actually gave it modern features like tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking, plus trimmed it down from the bloatware that it is, more people would stick with it. Instead it's losing ground, which is being attributed to Firefox and other alternative browsers.

Firefox, Mozilla, and Netscape are all written around the same emerging browser core code (KHTML), so this board should technically look the same on all 3 of them. Same goes for Apple's Safari. I view this site via Safari and the boxes do shift like Carm's screenshots above. The WYSIWYG feature doesn't work on Safari either. But for stability and speed I wouldn't trade Safari or Firefox for anything. They're indispensible in my web designing toolbox.
5141
Misc Tech / Re: Figured I'd move this over here (bad hesitation)
The problem ended up being the EGR valve. I threw an old one on (the original from my '86 convertible) and the car is driving almost like brand new. No popping, no sputtering, no hesitation at all. I can actually give the car throttle through corners now! There is still a high idle issue which I think is being caused by the MAP sensor. I'm changing that over today in the hope that it returns the car down to normal. Other than that, just some cleaning of the throttle body and I should be good to go.

You can try to clean out the EGR with carb/choke cleaner and see if that helps things. I've done it before....it only buys you a little extra time before you absolutely must break down and shell out for a new one. But it can give you an indication of what's wrong anyhow. Worth the half hour or so that you'll be messing with it.
5142
Suspension/Steering / Re: Offset Rack Bushings?
Bump steer kit and caster/camber plates will definitely correct things. Also, consider Steeda X2 ball joints. With this combo of parts, offset rack bushings are unnecessary.

BTW, the 1986-88 K-member is designed for split rack bushings...pretty cool idea. When changing bushings you put one bushing piece on each peg sticking out of the K-member, then install the rack, then put the other piece in, and tighten down with the bolt. Very efficient design and much easier to install than the older 1-piece bushings, also used on Mustangs. It's about the only saving grace of that K-member (aside from ease of changing motor mounts).
5145
Misc Tech / Re: Which drop in fuel pump?
Quote from: bq93
Eric,

Would you happen to recall where you ordered your pump?

I can only find the 155 (BBK-1527), and 255 lph (BBK-1622) pumps at Summit, no 190lph.


This was back in '97. It was at Summit. You can use a 155 or 255...either one will be fine with an SO motor, and even an HO really.